Decided to go to South Korea during the one week school break since we've never been there before. Checked out several travel companies and found a tour package that I thought Aidan would find enjoyable. YC's parents (who are retired) were also keen to join us so I thought why not...Aidan would be glad to have his grandparents around & I would definitely appreciate any helping hand I may need with hyper li' one!

We were asked to pack for temperature ranging from minus 4 degrees to as high as 10 degrees so you can imagine how filled to the brim the luggages were. But duh me forgot to bring along Aidan's thick ski jacket so he had to make do with a black jacket which he wore throughout the trip. The itinerary had the standard go-to touristy places/themeparks and waterspots.

Man..it was freezing cold when we got there! Think it was roughly -2 to 2 degrees..Took sometime before we got used to it..but I've always like the cold weather! :)

First stop Everland Resort, South Korea's largest Theme Park. Due to the weather (cold & windy), many of the rides/attractions were closed to public.

The various animals at the Zootopia SectionCopulating felines :DOne of the main attraction at the park :A liger which is a hybrid cross of a lion and tiger..A freaking huge cat!

Aidan got to see/feel snow for the first time at the National Park. Our guide was telling us that usually at this time of the year, the snow would have melted but as we all know..the weather around the world has been pretty schizo of late & it had just snowed a few weeks ago so there was still some leftover snow at the park..

The li' fella was really excited and couldn't stop playing with it!! Can't blame him..first time i saw snow was when I was 21 & I probably reacted the same way (Think I jumped onto it and made snow angels). Couldn't help smiling at his exuberance,seeing his face lit up with so much glee while digging into the snow and making li' snowballs and having such a whale of a time with the other kids.

Some food pictures..gonna just post several food pics since it is lunch time soon..

Oh man, by the 3rd day, I was kinda sick of Korean fare and was dying for some hawker centre food! But I grew to like kimchi though.

Other stuff we did included learning how to ice-sculpt, make kimchi, dressed up in traditional korean garbs, went to the hotsprings & indoor waterpark & teddybear museum too...

Ah ma helping him to make kimchi..:)The boy really enjoyed this :) He was making these heart-shaped ice patches together with Joleen, this cute li'girl with our tour group. He actually said to her "Nah! I give you my heart okay!" Her mom & I couldn't stop laughing when we overheard their conversation.He absolutely dreaded having to wear the korean traditional outfit. Kept complaining that it looked so girly! Check out his black face in the pics man!

S.Korea apparently got hit with a major sandstorm on the Saturday we were there..it was the day where we had a free day..That particular day was rainy and cold and the skies were dark and cloudy..so we spent most of the day shopping (poor ah-gong and Aidan had to follow us around)

All in all, it was a pretty okay holiday. The boy had loads of fun which was what the trip was about anyway.I was so tired after the trip because Aidan had so much energy and couldn't stay still, was constantly hungry and didnt want to nap/sleep...aiyoh! Thankfully his grandparents were around or else I would have expired due to exhaustion. I hope to go for a trip to Europe sometime end this year sans Aidan..selfish I know but maybe I can let his daddy take over at the end of the year *cross fingers*

Gawd..I'm maid-less for another 2 more weeks! Hope I can survive man..House is in a mess. I managed to clear most of the laundry already and ironing's a bitch (man..i'm so spoilt). Aidan's been suggesting that I should buy some cookbooks! *weep*

Shopping was fun..but the sizes were so small. U would have enjoyed it.

One thing i gotta say though..the ladies there are sooo slim..i hardly saw any fat korean ladies (obasans dont count)...and they are so beautifully made up and their hair so nicely styled most of the time! Where they find the time in the morning???!!

looks like a great holiday!! I can imagine how excited Aidan was to feel and play with snow.my colleague and ex-colleagues went there just after CNY. also freezing cold. They went on F&E and said it's sooo easy and asked me to do so the next time i go. But when i was there in 2000 on a working trip, i almost cried when no one understood what i want when all flights cancelled due to bad weather. From then on, I said I don't want to go back there again. haha...

nice pictures! Aidan looks cute with that teddy hat :D "fell in love" with kimchi while holidaying there a few years back. thot it tasted really nice! esp when they can come up with so many diff types of kimchi!!! amazing :)

my dil was saying that they had more food options/variety when they were in korea previously..but yeah i guess, the choices offered at a tour group would be somewhat limited and based on the organiser's budget..

I sooo agree with you on the sick-of-the-food point. After 3 days it just looks like the same thing, over and over.

It's the same vegetables, same hot pot, same hot pepper sauce, same side dishes. Everything is always cooked in one big hot pot. The only variation is the food is either "wet" (soup) or "dry". Sure, it's healthy and full of veggies and everything but by Day 3 I was already sick of the food.

We went to Everland too and frankly, I felt very sorry for the animals. Did you see the bear that keeps begging for food? I was so sad when I saw the bear...

Looks like you had fun, Ange. Man I can't wait to go for a holiday! My BKK trip this wkend had to be cancelled because of the persistant protests. Gosh I have itchy feet and also crave some retail therapy!!!!!!